Laser

On Tuesday May 19th, 2009 Fade Fast hit an amazing milestone, our 1200th treatment! This achievement is especially significant in that every treatment was performed by Allen Falkner, not an accumulation of treatments by multiple technicians. Below is a before and after shot from our client Chris: (The 1200th treatment was done just after the right side of the photo was taken)

Below you can see a step by step series of images from untreated (top left) to the 8th treatment (bottom right). The white frosting in the last photo is actually a normal post treatment response that disappears 10-15 minutes after the procedure. Click Here for more information on frosting.

As you can see, the tattoo is not completely removed, but we are very, very close. Another thing you might notice in the first image is that Chris lost 30 pounds since we first started. Congratulations Chris and thank you for trusting us with your tattoo removal!

It wasn’t long ago that the mention of lasers conjured up images of large-scale weapons that were definitely more science fiction than fact.

The Death Star has a formidable array of turbolasers giving it the firepower of greater than half the Imperial starfleet.

Planetary disintegration? Doubtful modern lasers will ever be used for that purpose. It’s true that the use of lasers to damage or destroy tissue has become more and more common in the medical field. Even in our business of tattoo removal, we harness the destructive property of laser energy to break down the tattoo ink so the body lymphatic system can remove the foreign particles. However, what about using a laser to create, rather than destroy?

Irene Kochevar codirects research into healing surgical incisions with laser light at Massachusetts General Hospital.

After removing a small ellipse of tissue from an anesthetized rabbit, surgeon Ying Wang sews the deeper layers of the wound shut with traditional sutures; the laser that the team uses does not penetrate this deep tissue and so cannot bind it together.

Wang has closed the right half of the epidermal wound with cosmetic stitches. She then drips Rose Bengal dye onto the left half.

Wang and surgeon Min Yao position a metal frame that directs a green surgical laser over the incision. The frame keeps the instrument steady and at a measured distance from the skin. They shine the light onto the cut to activate the dye, leaving it on for three minutes.

A lens in the metal stand modifies the shape of the laser’s focal point so that it’s ideal for healing a long, thin surgical incision. Activated by the light, the Rose Bengal stain causes collagen fibers in the skin to link, sealing the wound.

Once the laser is removed, the left half of the incision remains closed without sutures; it requires no further care and will leave behind almost no scar. The stitches on the right half, however, must remain in place for up to two weeks and will result in small but visible cross-hatch scars.